Bean recipes
A growing collection of our favorite recipes to enrich your bean palate
Tamales de frijol, calabaza, y epazote
Eaten widely across Mexico but with many regional variations, tamales are both a celebratory and convenience food. While lard is traditionally used, this version can also be made entirely vegan.
Frijoles con salsa macha
This recipe was designed exclusively for our Primary Beans x Tamoa collaboration by Bolita founder, Emmanuel Galván. Salsa macha is a toasty, nutty, spicy condiment.
Herby marinated white beans
This recipe by Annie Lucey is low maintenance and big on flavor, which makes it perfect for summer dinner parties or even Sunday meal prep. Serve immediately or pop into the fridge.
Vegan frijoles Zacatecanos
Designed exclusively for our Toda la Familia kit by Todo Verde founder and NYT Cooking contributor, Jocelyn Ramirez. You can typically find avocado leaves at Mexican grocery stores or online.
Molletes with tofu al pastor
Designed exclusively for our Toda la Familia kit by Todo Verde founder, Jocelyn Ramirez. "The best thing about molletes is the combination of crunchy toasted bolillo or birote with luscious smooth beans."
Jocelyn’s frijoles de la olla
Designed exclusively for our Toda la Familia kit by Todo Verde founder and NYT Cooking contributor, Jocelyn Ramirez. You can typically find avocado leaves at Mexican grocery stores or online.
Brothy beans with gremolata and Greek yogurt
Herby gremolata (chopped, never blended) adds color, zippy flavor, and texture, and stirring in Greek yogurt brings a tangy brightness to the broth.
Best hummus
High-quality chickpeas and tahini, which blend together to make the creamiest version of this classic dip, make all the difference. You can play with the toppings depending on what’s in your pantry.
Rustic Bakery's Meyer lemon chickpea spread
Our friends at Rustic Bakery adapted the recipe for home cooks. Bright and citrusy from 2 whole Meyer lemons and lots of cilantro, this recipe makes the most of California’s winter citrus season.
Venezuelan-style arepas with secret sauce
While living on the East Coast we became obsessed with the stuffed cornmeal cakes, known as arepas, from NYC's Caracas Arepas Bar. We still dream about the signature tangy, bright-yellow sauce.
Kenyan kunde-inspired beans in a peanut-tomato sauce
Kunde is a Kenyan dish featuring black-eyed peas cooked in a peanut-tomato sauce. This recipe swaps out the black-eyed peas for cranberry beans and comes together in a snap.
Mediterranean-inspired tomato and bean salad
I love the bright, refreshing flavors of a Mediterranean, Greek-style salad. This is a loosely inspired dish, featuring tomatoes, salty feta, and lots of fresh herbs.
Mexican-inspired refried beans with pickled onions
I love refried beans, and though I typically see them made with pinto beans, cranberry beans act as an excellent substitute. Cranberry beans are slightly milder in flavor but still yield a delicious result.
Indian-inspired bean tadka
Creamy cranberry beans pair nicely with fat and spice, ideal for Indian cooking. Tadka is a South Asian technique used to bloom spices in oil to extract their essential flavor compounds.
Italian-inspired brothy beans
A good bowl of brothy beans is simple to put together, but oh-so-comforting! The ingredients here are inspired by Italian cooking, like anchovies, garlic, and lemon.
Abra Berens' cranberry bean salad w/ roasted carrots + mojo de ajo
I came to know cranberry beans in the kitchen at Petersham Nurseries under the tutelage of Skye Gyngell. She called them by their Italian name, borlotti beans.
Abra Berens' tomato + parsnip stew w/ wilted kale
I like to finish these stews in the oven to slowly evaporate the liquid while creating a bit of a crust on top. It takes a little longer but requires less attention than the stovetop...
Abra Berens' greens + bean pot licker
My friend Erin Stanley turned me on to cooking broccolini with some pasta cooking water until it is just about to fall apart. Swap pot liquor for pasta water and here we are.
Cheesy baked beans in tomato sauce
An easy and comforting dinner that comes together quickly during the week. The anchovies dissolve and add a savory complexity. For a complete meal, serve over a pile of orzo or with crusty bread.
Spicy bean cakes with cilantro-yogurt sauce
These spicy bean cakes are a fun cross between bean patties and my mom’s pakoras. Their crisp exterior and warm, flavorful interior pair beautifully with a dollop of cooling cilantro-yogurt sauce.
Cranberry beans with grilled radicchio and mushrooms
Our ideal fall salad comes together in a pinch with distinctly bitter radicchio, nutty cranberry beans, and a bright vinaigrette. Applying high heat to the chicories brings out their natural sweetness.
Fall chickpea salad with charred chicories
Lemony marinated chickpeas, salty crumbled feta, and a silky spicy dressing round out the charred chicories. Best of all, it’s satisfying enough as a standalone dish.
No-ketchup sticky baked beans
I grew up in New England, and few things remind me of fall more than a big pot of baked beans served on a crisp day. The baked beans of my childhood are, to my now grown-up palate, a little too sweet, so...
Summer taco salad
This recipe is fresh, tangy, flavorful, and hearty enough to be a meal. The dressing gets its creamy consistency from Greek yogurt, jazzed up with lime juice and chipotles in adobo.
Peak-summer panzanella
The best combination of two of our favorite “heirlooms”: tomatoes and beans! We’ve loved panzanella ever since we discovered this pure genius of a salad. The beans marinate in the salty vinaigrette.
Sofia and Francisco's enfrijoladas
Enfrijoladas are a go-to weeknight dinner throughout Mexico and we get why: tortillas smothered in a smooth, rich bean sauce makes for a super simple, yet comforting dish.
No-fail refried beans
Once you’ve made a pot of beans using our guide, you’ve allllmost made refried beans. All you need is a little more fat to fry everything up. If you can find quality, pasture-raised lard, use it for the best flavor...
Turkish bean salad (piyaz)
A traditional Turkish salad recipe developed in partnership with New York Shuk that comes together quickly to make your summer easy and delicious. We love how the zingy preserved lemon paste and sumac...
Persian-style herby beans with yogurt and caramelized onions
This recipe is adapted from the herbaceous bean and noodle soup known as ash reshteh. Our version is heavy on the beans, and features the traditional yogurt and caramelized onion topping.
*Actual* veggie burgers
You make a veggie burger because you want an actual veggie burger, not a plant-based burger that tastes exactly like meat. This recipe celebrates beans and veggies...
Mexican beans 3 ways: Frijoles charros, oaxaqueños, and puercos
We're sharing 3 ways to transform your next batch of Mexican-style beans into dishes representing regional favorites across Mexico. Each of these preparations starts with a batch of frijoles de la olla.
Carrot-bean soup with miso and dill
Here's a simple, nourishing carrot-bean soup with miso, lemon zest, and dill for a flavor punch. We love the rustic nature that’s achieved by keeping vegetable chunks whole rather than pureeing.
Favorite shakshuka with chickpeas and harissa
Shakshuka is at the top of our list of eggs-for-dinner recipes, though in Israel it’s brunch fare above all. It’s a one-pan dish of eggs baked in a spice-laden tomato sauce, and served with a pile of warm pita bread.
Creamy beans on toast
A no-recipe recipe that is a must-have for your back pocket. Never forget: good, crusty bread is the perfect vessel for creamy beans. Which beans to use? Creamy beans with delicate skins...
Pasta e fagioli
With as many variations as there are bean varieties, this Italian favorite is the perfect way to show off brothy beans in all their glory. Literally "pasta and beans," the only other ingredients you need are...
Baked beans with greens, dill, and yogurt
For those of you who love one-dish dinners that don't compromise on complexity of flavor, this one’s for you. Inspired by Greece’s way with beans, this recipe uses a traditional technique...
Espinacas con garbanzos
Typically served as a tapa in Spain, this lovely stew of chickpeas (aka garbanzos), spinach, garlic, smoked paprika, and homemade croutons will surely make you nostalgic about that last time you traveled...
Pressure cooker rajma
This iconic North Indian bean stew is the ultimate comfort food. Like a classic chili, the beans are coated with a rich, heavily spiced, tomato-ey sauce. And, it is practically made for the electric pressure cooker.
Garlicky white bean spread
This creamy spread has it all: it’s classy and decadent, but also crazy simple and nourishing. We love the complexity of flavors that comes from the roasted garlic...
Botanica’s bean tartine with sage-pistachio pesto
This stunning recipe comes from Botanica, one of Los Angeles’s leading vegetable-forward restaurants. Primary Beans and Botanica partnered up for a 10-day food festival...
Spicy pork pozole with beans
Deliciously comforting and nourishing, and fortified with hominy, chiles, and pork, it’s no wonder pozole is a celebratory dish all over Mexico. Here we feature Enrique Olvera’s pozole recipe...
Creamy beans with herb oil
A bowl of creamy beans topped with a smooth, vibrant herb oil is the perfect dinner when life is busy and people are hungry. Plus, the leftover herb oil is great for vinaigrettes and drizzled over...
Friday night beans, greens, and sausage
I probably make this every-other-Friday (at least). It’s easy enough to make after a long work day, but special enough for it to feel like a Friday.
Chipotle baked beans with cilantro pesto
This recipe was just made for the plump, sturdy, and creamy nature of our Ayocote beans. These large beans really shine when bathed in the smoky chipotle-tomato sauce and topped with bright cilantro pesto.
Frijoles de la olla
We’ve experimented with enough variations to know that the ultimate Mexican-style brothy beans comes from embracing simplicity. While flavorings vary depending on the region...
Pared-down cassoulet
Deceptively known as “peasant fare” in France, cassoulet is as technical as it gets when it comes to beans. Beans are the backbone of this dish and work their magic by absorbing the many flavors...